The Special Liveliness of Hooks in Popular Music and Beyond

Beschreibung

This book illuminates the aesthetically underrated meaningfulness of particular elements in works of art and aesthetic experiences generally. Beginning from the idea of "hooks" in popular song, the book identifies experiences of special liveliness that are of enduring interest, supporting contemplation and probing discussion. When hooks are placed in the foreground of aesthetic experience, so is an enthusiastic “grabbing back” by the experiencer who forms a quasi-personal bond with the beloved singular moment and is probably inclined to share this still-evolving realization of value with others. This book presents numerous models of enthusiastic “grabbing back” that are art-critically motivated to explain how hooks achieve their effects and philosophically motivated to discover how hooks and hook appreciation contribute to a more ideally desirable life. Framing hook appreciation with a defensible general model of aesthetic experience, this book gives an unprecedented demonstration of the substantial aesthetic and philosophical interest of hook-centered inquiry.


This book illuminates the aesthetically underrated meaningfulness of particular elements in works of art and aesthetic experiences generally. Beginning from the idea of "hooks" in popular song, the book identifies experiences of special liveliness that are of enduring interest, supporting contemplation and probing discussion. When hooks are placed in the foreground of aesthetic experience, so is an enthusiastic “grabbing back” by the experiencer who forms a quasi-personal bond with the beloved singular moment and is probably inclined to share this still-evolving realization of value with others. This book presents numerous models of enthusiastic “grabbing back” that are art-critically motivated to explain how hooks achieve their effects and philosophically motivated to discover how hooks and hook appreciation contribute to a more ideally desirable life. Framing hook appreciation with a defensible general model of aesthetic experience, this book gives an unprecedented demonstration of the substantial aesthetic and philosophical interest of hook-centered inquiry.
Explains how "hooks" work as an aesthetic experience in pop music and beyond Presents numerous pop music case studies that explain how hooks achieve their effects Demonstrates how hooks and hook appreciation contribute to a more ideally desirable life

Autor*in

Steven G. Smith

Themen in »The Special Liveliness of Hooks in Popular Music and Beyond«

Popular Music Philosophy of Music Hooks Aesthetics Philosophy and Popular Culture

Stimmen zu »The Special Liveliness of Hooks in Popular Music and Beyond«

"If you’ve ever wondered how a songwriter can draw us in with an opening riff or produce a refrain that hits like a punchline, this is the book for you. Steven Smith surveys the various ways that artworks, especially popular songs, grab us. In a captivating style he offers a profusion of subtly analyzed examples that reveal the cognitive complexity of deceptively simple devices and the singular detail’s aesthetic power. Good hooks do not just intrigue us, Smith argues. They touch us personally and enliven us. The same can be said of this book. (Kathleen Higgins, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin)
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